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The Winds of Change and Bullet Point of Activities

I'm not really sure what that title means except it came to mind as I was deciding what to write about today and it seemed very applicable to what's happening in our lives and on our mission.

So, yes, it's been windy and very, very cold; freezing to be exact. It's a humid cold and seems to get to your very bones. It was warmer all last week in Utah - so we were very happy for the rest of you and grateful for warm blankets and a furnace.

Many in our area live in trailers. One particular elderly hispanic sister lives in dire circumstances and we went to check on her one night that the freeze was coming. We were going to remove her to a friends' home. But, she wanted to stay and told us that she was cooking on her stove and that would bring in a bit of heat. She wanted to stay home.

The next night she called us to come and get her. We took her (and 8 loads of laundry) to an apt. with a friend. She was so grateful as she said she'd not really slept the previous night. Her trailer is so dilapidated and she's blown all the electrical outlets by overloading. She had no other source of heat.

"When you are in the service of your fellow beings, you are only in the service of your God."

Many have helped her for many years. We've come to see how challenging and complicated some of their circumstances are. They are not an easy-fix and much has been done to assist and help them in the past. It just reminded us of how much we all have to be grateful for. And, for the suffering of so many in the world whose life-experiences and challenges have been much different than our own.

The Winds of Change have also given us a week off from working on one particular trailer. That sister is out of work at present and deciding what to do in the future. So, we're waiting to hear that decision so we know if we proceed on the work we've been doing or move on to someone else.

Change can be good. We all know that. It can provide growth and new opportunities to serve, learn and meet others. We're grateful for that.

We also know that many here will have fewer opportunities for education than some - because of language barriers and family circumstances. We have felt that the English classes we offer are some of the best help we can give.

We've also recently become more aware of some of the circumstances in our neighboring countries to the south. Our hearts go out to the many who are suffering because of the unrighteousness of peoples or governments. We now know more about the drug lords, gangs, corrupt governments, marauders, and what they do to their own people. We have heard first-hand accounts about the starvation in Venezuela; a country that used to be one of the top economies in South America.

Destin Beach. We don't get there very often but once-in-a-while we get to enjoy.

We LOVE these precious people. You would love them, too, if you met them. They are just like us with desires for their families, desires to serve God, desires for safe places and homes and employment and safety for their children. Our hearts go out to them and we pray, everyday, for guidance as to know what to do to best lift and enlighten them.

Everyday in my scripture study and pondering and prayer, I pray to keep His peace with me, when many things around us are in turmoil. I know for myself that I truly NEED His Peace EVERYDAY. There is so much else out there and around me that if I am not centered and founded - then I start to feel irritated or frustrated or chaotic or worried. Truly, He is my only help, for which I am deeply grateful and He says for us to come unto Him for Peace. I know for myself that that is true.Here are a few bullet points of our recent events/activities:
- Senior Missionary Conf. in Tallahassee - which was wonderful. We received outstanding training on Family Search from another missionary couple and we presented a PPT on Using Social Media for it's intended purpose (something I feel strongly about.) Elder Hendricks was amazing at setting it up.

-While there we all visited the Pebble Hill Plantation in Thomasville, Georgia. It's an estate of 3,000 acres originating from the 1820's, survived the Civil War, and later given to a private foundation so many visitors could enjoy. It was quite interesting.

- Had Regional Conference with 6 other states. Outstanding! Elder Bednar of the Twelve, gave powerful discourse on Repentance. Sister Marriott, from Louisiana and in General RS Pres., spoke of the sacred experience of waiting 47 years for her own mother to be willing to listen to her testimony of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. She did was she was in her 90's, and then passed away not too long after that (which was last year.)
All the Spanish headsets were used that day for translation. One lady, a non-member, came late. She had to leave her work early and drive 30 minutes and was so eager to hear 'an Apostle of the Lord'. A member who was using his headset - saw her walk-in, and gave his headset to her so she could hear. He wanted to hear too so we were deeply moved at his sacrifice for another.

- Started our second English Class for Tues. and Thurs. nights. I am usually so tired by that time - but I know I've been sustained in being able to do it and help as many as we can. They often pray for us and thank Heavenly Father that we are there helping them to learn English. That is VERY humbling.

-Watched the announcement of the new First Presidency last Tuesday for District Meeting with the 6 Elders in our district. It was deeply moving for all of us to see the beauty of 'succession in the Presidency' and how the Lord is at the Helm. This is His church so we know we are lead by His chosen leaders.

-Received Family History instruction (along with the Bishops) for 2 hours in the morning then one-on-one training with the Senior couple for 2 hours in the evening. It was fantastic. We are more excited now because we know better how to do things and hope to even get better than that. It's thrilling to see our family tree and to learn about so many of our ancestors who have gone before us. We love feeling of them and their desire for us to live our lives the best we can as well. It's a unique experience to feel the veil thinned when we are doing this work. So humbling.

- Changed flat tire for a sister on a freezing cold morning. Thankfully, we had the Elders come help us and their help was needed as the tire was completely shot. :) We then went and got her a new one, for which she was grateful.

Cold Morning/ Warm Hearts

Tonight we're headed to a member's house for dinner. I am bringing dessert so I made a favorite family cake recipe from the olden days; oatmeal cake with coconut pecan frosting. Yum. Hope it turned out okay and will go well with their Southern Main Dish. :) ha. We're still learning.

Our love to you all.
Sister (and Elder) Hendricks

Stopped for dinner one night. It was an indoor bowling alley made to appear that you were underwater. Really neat.

Comments

Dear Sister Heidi - I loved reading your blog and will concentrate on your thoughts about peace today and this week. I was going to address you personally but I don't know how so I'll just add 1 other thought and 1 request for the whole world to see. Hi world!:

1) When we first moved to Texas we began some classes in our ward on a week-night where we taught English, but I also decided to teach Spanish classes at the same time to members of the ward and friends who wanted to learn and practice basic Spanish. We studied the same basic information in the Spanish class as we did in the English class. Then the last 15 minutes to 1/2 hour we got the two groups together and did some one-on-one conversation or small group activities involving both classes. It was wonderful! It was fun and the participants got to know each other and had real practice. Some of the participants joined the Church, but we ALL made friends. Sometimes I taught the Spanish classes, but soon we had other volunteer teachers as well.

2) Any chance you'd like to share that oatmeal cake with coconut pecan frosting with me?

Thank you for your blog. I don't usually spend much time on social media but I made it part of my devotional this morning.

Thank you, LeaMarie, That is an excellent idea. We actually taught our first Spanish Class yesterday. That is a great way to try to connect the hearts of all. Thank you for additional insights. We have been so busy that we haven't had a chance to do everything yet but are working towards making things better for all. Your thoughts are valued.

Yes. I found the recipe on-line since I didn't bring all my recipes with me. :) It was yummy. https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/old-fashioned-oatmeal-cake-with-broiled-topping/cd4f0082-e489-4fb4-8435-f21a04f76b9f

Also; as for Social Media and it's appropriate use - may I share the PPT I just did for our Senior Missionaries? I believe, strongly, that if we used it for it's intended purposes - we could all make a difference in the world for someone else, and/or find many more who are truly seeking for answers to their sincere questions. Just a thought. :) (I've linked to the PPT in my blog post for today.) Much love to you!

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About Us

We are currently serving as LDS Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our assigned area for 18-months is "Fort Walton Beach" in the Tallahassee, Florida area. We love the Lord and seek to follow Him and invite others' to do the same. We would love to have you share in our Journey.